The invention relates to digital tape drive storage devices, and in particular, to a takeup reel for single reel tape drives.
Tape drives have been widely employed in industry for over thirty years due to their ability to store large amounts of data on a relatively small inexpensive removable format. The data is stored on tape drives utilizing a variety of designs, but in all cases, magnetic tape media is wound between a pair of tape reels as data is transferred to or from the tape media. The standard tape media employed in many applications is a one half-inch wide tape media housed in a tape cartridge measuring at or near 1 inch in height. Presently, all tape drives that utilize half-inch tape media are constructed in a full height five and a quarter (5.25) inch or larger form factor as defined by: EIA specification No. 3877-A xe2x80x9cSmall Form Factor 133.35 mm (5.25) Disk Drives.xe2x80x9d The full height five and a quarter (5.25) form factor measures approximately three and a half (3.5) inches tall, and therefore, half-inch tape drives occupy two drive bays when installed in a conventional computer housing.
In the art of data storage, the physical space required to store data is an important concern. Therefore, it is desirable to have a half-inch tape drive that is constructed with a half high form factor that permits installation in a single drive bay in a conventional computer housing. The half high form factor, also defined in EIA specification No. 3877-A xe2x80x9cSmall Form Factor 133.35 mm (5.25) Disk Drivesxe2x80x9d includes a maximum height of 1.634 inches. Unfortunately, in addition to the fact that the half-inch tape cartridge utilizes 1 inch of the available 1.634 inches in height, several design requirements make achieving a half-height form factor in a half-inch tape drive extremely difficult.
FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a typical half-inch tape drive 100. The tape drive 100 is a DLT tape drive that employs a single reel DLT tape cartridge design. This design includes a supply reel located within a tape cartridge (not shown) and a takeup reel 101 located within the tape drive 100. Referring to FIG. 2, the tape media on the tape cartridge is terminated at one end by a tape cartridge leader 201. The tape cartridge leader 201 is a strong flexible plastic strip containing an ovular aperture 202 on its distal end. A takeup leader 203, that connects to the takeup reel 101, is a similar plastic strip that includes a stem 204 and tab 205 designed to buckle with the ovular aperture 202 on the tape cartridge leader 201 to form buckle 200. The tape cartridge leader 201 also includes a section 206 that is slightly wider than the rest of the tape cartridge leader 201 and the takeup leader 203. The wider section 206 prevents the tape cartridge leader 201 from being pulled into the tape cartridge after the tape cartridge leader 201 and takeup leader 203 are disconnected for ejection of the tape cartridge.
Upon loading the tape cartridge into the tape drive 100, the takeup leader 203 and tape cartridge leader 201 are buckled, and the tape media is wound to a start point or read position. To accommodate the slightly wider section 206 during winding of the tape cartridge leader 201 and the takeup leader 203 around the takeup reel 101, the takeup reel 101 includes a wider stepped area 102 formed in the top and in the bottom flanges, 112 and 113, of the takeup reel 101. Unfortunately, the stepped area 102 adds approximately a quarter of an inch to the height of the takeup reel 101 and the overall height of the tape drive 100.
The present invention overcomes the problems outlined above and advances the art by providing a smaller takeup reel for single reel tape drives that reduces the overall height of the drive. A first advantage of the present takeup reel is that it is substantially smaller than prior art takeup reels and still accommodates the wider section of the tape cartridge leader. A second advantage of the present takeup reel is that it does not alter the tape cartridge accommodated by the tape drive. It can be appreciated that not modifying the tape cartridge format represents a significant advantage to consumers whose data is currently stored on conventional half-inch tape cartridges. A third advantage of the present takeup reel is improved manufacturability and reduced manufacturing costs. A fourth advantage of the present takeup reel is improved strength resulting from the use of ultrasonic welding techniques. As will become apparent from the following description this represents a significant advantage over the prior art takeup reel, which is glued together using an adhesive.
The present takeup reel comprises a pair of segmented flanges connected in a parallel relationship to a takeup reel hub. The segmented flanges define a first tape containment section and a second tape containment section and include rounded protrusions that align and guide the tape media around the hub during operation of the tape drive. The wider section of the tape cartridge leader is accommodated between the first tape containment section and the second tape containment section, thus eliminating the need for the stepped section of the prior art takeup reel. The present takeup reel also includes a small post configured to mate with feature on the tape drive to prevent movement of the takeup reel when the tape cartridge is unloaded from and loaded into the tape drive. Additional features and advantages will become apparent from the following description and reference to the attached drawings.